New Year’s Eve is a time to cut loose and celebrate the start of the New Year. Drinking is also a part of the New Year’s Eve tradition for many, and taking a limo is a choice that a number of partygoers make to stay safe… and travel in style.
However, safer does not mean completely safe. While most Floridians use limo services without any issue, accidents can and do happen, often because the limo companies cut corners to get you from one place to another as quickly as possible and move on to the next job.
This isn’t right, and if you were injured as a result, you are entitled to compensation for your injuries.
However, a limo accident is much different than a car crash, and filing an injury claim is not necessarily a straightforward process. Therefore, we’ve put together a guide covering how limo accident liability works, and some of the special concerns of filing a liability claim against a commercial vehicle operator.
Florida Limo Injuries Are Often Serious
When limousines get into accidents, even a seemingly minor accident can lead to serious injuries. This is why limo drivers are required to undergo a significant amount of training before they’re allowed on the road. Sometimes, however, that training fails.
Why are limo injuries so serious?
Limo passengers ride in these vehicles differently than in other types of automobiles. Typically, they don’t have seatbelts or other types of restraints, so a fender bender can send a limo’s occupants flying. Limos also typically have a higher number of passengers, and when several of them are tossed around, flailing limbs can do serious damage.
Common injuries resulting from limo accidents include:
- Head and spinal injuries
- Broken bones
- Lacerations
- Bruises
- Amputations
- Fatalities
On top of this, limos can also cause serious injuries to the drivers and passengers of other vehicles on the road as well. Because limos are larger than most other automobiles, they often cause severe damage to other cars in even relatively minor accidents.
Determining Liability in a Florida Limo Accident
Depending on the circumstances of your accident, a few parties could potentially be liable:
- The limo driver
- The company that owns the limo
- Another motorist that caused the accident
- If the accident was caused by a design flaw, the limo’s manufacturer
Fortunately, Florida state law requires that commercial vehicle operators carry more liability insurance than other drivers. Limo operators must carry $125,000 of bodily injury insurance for each person in the vehicle and $50,000 in property damage insurance.
However, seeking damages in a limo accident is often complex, which is where you might need experienced help to get the compensation you deserve.
Why Limo Crashes are Different from Car Crashes in Florida
The laws surrounding commercial vehicle liability are complex and can impact your insurance claim if you’ve been involved in a limo accident.
On top of that, limo companies are big businesses, and unlike most individual motorists you’d encounter, they will do all that they can to protect themselves, including bringing in a strong legal team. This is why you need to make sure that you also have an excellent legal team in your corner.
If you’ve been in a limo accident that could have been prevented but for another party’s negligence, you are entitled to compensation. Consider seeking damages to help your family recover from the financial burden of your injuries, and to hold the responsible party accountable for their negligent actions.
About the Author:
Andrew Winston is a partner at the personal injury law firm of Winston Law. For over 20 years, he has successfully represented countless people in all kinds of personal injury cases, with a particular focus on child injury, legal malpractice, and premises liability. He has been recognized for excellence in the representation of injured clients by admission to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, is AV Preeminent Rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, enjoys a 10.0 rating by AVVO as a Top Personal Injury Attorney, has been selected as a Florida “SuperLawyer” from 2011-2017 – an honor reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the state – and was voted to Florida Trend’s ”Legal Elite” and as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Florida and one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Miami area for 2015, 2016, and 2017.
